Chg's Final Post on Corner Violin Shop...

September 15, 2006. My first day as a full time employee at A. Cavallo. When I jumped on board, we were down to 3 employees. The shop had lost its full time repair woman earlier that year and Les was still working part-time as he was finishing up his undergraduate degree. Just before we had arrived, the shop had its first real administrative employee but unfortunately we lost her as well.

I really wasn't sure what to expect when I got there. As a former violinist, I may have had some idea of what customers wanted but this was a totally different arena. I had to be on my feet and learn to be a jack-of-all-trades. Learning the lingo of the trade, answering phones, shipping and packing, repair and maintenance, databasing, and ringing up customers.

I was beginning to think that my employment would be a temporary phase like my stint as an intern on the Hill or a landscaper at Lauritzen Gardens. After a year and a half later of working there, I came away with a lot from that experience. Initially, doing all those seemingly menial gopher runs made me aware of how hard small businesses work to survive. Not only did they have to worry about their daily operations but they had to grasp abstract business concepts like selling, marketing, advertising, managing, and administrating. However, I also realized that if a small business like a violin shop was to thrive, it had to go beyond that. It had to be emboldened with a creative entrepreneurial spirit.

With a chance to experiment in a business model and goal that I believed in, I dove right in and did as much as I could. I helped establish A. Cavallo's online presence. It first started with listing a few instruments on eBay. Then learning to sell on Amazon.com. We launched a brand new database driven website and it showed real signs of promise at the end of the year. Today, we're finally starting to see more sales on our website than our Amazon platform.

It's not just in cyber-space where we have expanded but inside the shop as well. We've gone from the local shop that services and sells string instruments, to a business that has ventured into other areas like accessories and fittings imported from abroad. Who knew that the shop would be able to hold more than 5 double basses at a time or sell to more out-of-state customers? In fact, this month we've officially started up a wholesale end of the business. Alessandro Imports is the name and we hope to see you on the road.

Our staff has also experienced expansion and change. Les Korus helped us with all of our repairs and rehairs, before he left to become a full time bow maker. I wish him all the luck! You've already seen Matt Mickelson hard at work at bridge carving. Maddy Mayer has been with us on and off throughout the year but will become a full fledged workshop manger after attending classes at Oberlin. Here to replace me is, Cassie Johnson. She'll be a top notch administrator (something the shop has always needed) and will be the first one to greet you when you step into the shop. I've already mentioned the arrival of Daniel Jacobson but it looks like he won't arrive until the beginning of June. Who knows, maybe his position as an intern will be the start of a summer internship program to come?

And finally of course, there's the blog that I launched in May of 2007. It first served as a place for me to document my time at the shop, make mental notes, and write any creative ideas during the dead days of the week. I've left the task to my fellow employees. Let's hope they decided to keep it going:)

May 24, 2008. My last day as a full time employee. I'm off to Ann Arbor where I will be studying architecture and urban design.

Polish Maker's Spotlight: Szlachtowski, Koscielny, & Cracovia Workshop

For a number of years, the shop had been investing its time in locating world class contemporary makers from abroad such as Italy or Germany. However, it seems like the boss recently has had an interest in the up and coming makers of Eastern Europe like Poland, Czech Republic, or Romania. If you've kept tabs on my Twitter account, you may have heard about the arrival of some new instruments. Two of these will be the topic of today's entry as I show off some nice photos of the makers, talk more about their background, and a bit of history on Polish violin making.

Jan Szlachtowski was Born in 1951 in Nowry Targ, Poland. In 1970 he finished school in violin making in Zakopane where he worked under one of the old Polish Masters Jozef Bartoszek. From 1987 to 1988, he worked at W.H. Lee firm in Chicago. In 1988 he returned home to his birth city where he opened up shop and can still be found working today. His main area of work is cello which have established quite a reputation amongst dealers in the U.S.



The workshop of Master Jarek Koscielny in Czetochowa, the town of the famous Black Madonna which is frequently visited by Catholic tourists and pilgrimages. His violins are made in the Stradivari and Guarneri patterns with an antiqued varnish look.



The Cracovia Workshop was established about 6 years ago in Southern Poland. Polish Master Ryszard Florek runs the shop with 4 assistants in the town of Bielsko-Biala. All the instruments are "aged", antiqued, and treated in spirit varnish.


As you can see, some of the best contemporary makers are coming from Eastern Europe. You may think that violin making in these countries are a relatively new cultural phenomenon but not so! According to an article in the the Warsaw Voice, a majority of the Polish violin makers are members of the-oldest, after Italy's, organization of violin makers in Europe. The Association of Polish Artists Violin Makers (ZPAL) is reported to have 113 members and is celebrating its 54th anniversary this May.

In fact, Poland has had a richer history of violin making that dates as far back as the 16th century. The first great makers of that era, Marcin Groblicz I (1530-1609) and Baltazar Dankwart (mid-16th century - 1622), started two dynasties of outstanding violin makers which lasted until the 18th century. Some scholars even believe that the prototype of the violin originated in Poland. Relics such as a primitive fiddle from the 11th century, a five-string instrument from the 12th century and a six-string instrument in 15th-century serve as some of the strongest evidences for their case. A collection of these instruments can be found at the Museum of Musical Instruments in Poznań.

Many of today's Polish makers go through secondary school whose curricula include the art of violin making. There are currently two in the Poland that offer such programs: High School of Fine Arts in Zakopane and High School of Music in Poznań. These schools' graduates have an opportunity to continue their studies at the Violin Making Department of Poznań's Music Academy. This means that Poland is the only country in the world where violin makers can receive a university-level education.

After years of training and apprenticeships, many of them have established their workshop in the mountainous region of Poland. Due to the low cost of labor in Eastern Europe, a favorable currency exchange rate for the US Dollar, and a tradition of highly trained makers, these instruments can be compared with others that are worth two or more times their market price.

One hectic day at the shop...

Wednesday is supposed to be our slow day but as Alex would put it, "We've been cooking with grease!" The last few days have been surprisingly busy as we've seen an uptick in the local foot traffic. I jokingly told Matt that we needed to log in all of his catch phrases he uses around the shop. Just to list a few, Alex often answers the phone with default lines such as, "Oh my gosh, I have been so busy that I haven't had time to come up for air, what's up?." Or another one of my favorite ;) is, "How you doin', we've been goin' like non-stop, a million miles an hour."

The morning shipments arrived with a quite a few packages than the usual load of bow rehairs. Yes, it's here, our shipment of parts from India. I can't imagine that Matt was too excited to see this job again. It was one of the first tasks we had him do when he first started to work here a month or two ago. Luckily, Maddy officially came to work full time today and will definitely help him sort all those parts.



More practice at the computer desk for Cassie. Processing the paperwork of the daily Amazon and website orders were her first task before she moved onto listing eBay descriptions. This is Cassie's official first week but she's adapted to the shop very well. For every little gopher task we've asked her to do, she's completed it quickly and replied with a new catch phrase that's been added to the shop vocabulary, "I win." Every little task was a game so I jokingly said, okay, you'll win a prize next time you've finished this or that. Her first prize was a Nilla Waffer ("borrowed" from Maddy). Her second prize was a can of V8 Splash I found somewhere in the back of the office.



As I was about to guide her with PayPal payments, the door chime rang. For the next few hours, I would her send her out to assist Alex in any sales or visits. Meanwhile, Maddy's mom and grandparents came to visit. I wish I had the card reader for my camera because I have a good shot of Maddy showing off an electric violin to her grandfather.



As for me, I managed to sell a violin! It's can be fun when I get interact with customers first since Alex is usually the go-to-guy. He was a bit tied up today, trying to take care of two cello customers. Cassie was still in training so there wasn't a whole lot she could to help but to assist in the sale.

Last week for Chris Gerdes. A. Cavallo down a man. Substitution summer intern Daniel Jacobson, next week. A. Cavallo back soon to be back at full strength.

My NikonD70 camera finally came back from the shop. The camera had this problem of interlacing the previous images that were taken and as a result the files were either unreadable or corrupt. The repairman had to replace this small little electronic component inside which did some damage to my bank account but I can swallow it with a dose of reality. Afterall, it's a highly specialized form of skilled labor, something which I clearly started to understand after seeing our guys at A. Cavallo do work on the benches. It just like any old rehair or new bridge that needs to be carved. The real cost isn't the material, it's the labor.

So what I've been doing for the past few days is trying to wrap up my last week here with my newly repaired camera. You know, some memorable photos along the way. I took some shots of Matt working at the bench. Then some other featured objects in the shop that customers might spot or find interesting. A good one I took has been the string of hanging bridges. Alex leaves them out to hand so they'll dry out.

Eventually, I'll do a more formal shoot of our new employees. Maddy is officially working today and so is Cassie. Look forward for to a future posting about them with full introductions.

Violin Swindler Article Update & A Book Deal?

This is a bit of an update from a previous entry on violin dealer con-artist Joseph Tang. Remember him? The San Francisco Chronicle's piece followed up on the story with Tang pleading guilty to all original federal indictment charges. He pleaded guilty last week to mail and wire fraud, after scamming 10 people out of about $400,000 in connection with the sale and consignment of string instruments from April 2002 to December 2006.

A plea deal was reached where prosecutors have agreed not to file additional charges arising from their investigation. Tang may face up to 20 years in prison for each count, but prosecutors have agreed to ask for no more than 33 months if Tang has no prior criminal record. As a Canadian citizen, Mr. Tang is also facing the possibility of deportation.

Aside from the hard facts, the article fleshes out the story with remarks and anecdotes by a peripheral of characters such as local amateur cellist-collector San Friscan Bob Ng, prominent musicians, Jason Price of Tarisio, and a court case involving dealers suing the other for loss.

One thing that really caught my attention though was Mr. Tang was quoted as saying:

"All I need to say is I've been approached for a book deal. ... It'll be about the whole violin business"

This was said right after he declined to comment and left the courtroom pleading guilty. After all he's done, I couldn't believe he had the gull to say that. In a small world of classical music where relationships close and are built upon mutual trust, you would think that he would try to hold onto some dignity with apologies or reconciliations. Instead, he turns himself into a self-promotional advert. I can imagine the title to his new book "Confessions of a Violin Thief."

Maybe Mr. Tang should have read up on another author that this article looked into; Berkley Attorney and violin-maker Carla Shapreau. I'm going to take a look into a book that she's co-authored called "Violin Fraud: Deception, Forgery, Theft, and Lawsuits in England and America."